Harper averts immediate political crisis

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This article was published 28/11/2008 (6319 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA – Prime Minister Stephen Harper is moving to avert a major political showdown, pushing off the earliest non-confidence vote in his government by one week.

Harper’s dramatic move late Friday follows a day of political turmoil in Ottawa as the opposition parties threatened to bring down the minority government and form an unprecedented coalition.

The prime minister cancelled a scheduled opposition day Monday, at which the Liberals threatened to put a motion of non-confidence in the weeks-old government.

The threat was so real that Rideau Hall said Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean had made contingency plans for a swift return to Canada from a European tour should the government fall.

Harper said the next opposition day will be set for Dec. 8, giving his government a week’s breathing space.

He also cancelled the vote on a ways-and-means motion that had been scheduled for Monday night, which also gave an opening to bring down the government.

Harper criticized the Liberals for trying to take down his government just weeks after they lost an election.

“They want to take power, not earn it,” he said in a statement.

“Stephane Dion does not have the right to take power without an election.”

The government’s fall economic update sparked the crisis, with opposition parties saying it lacks the necessary economic stimulus required for the looming global recession.